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Canada's Rick Hansen among contributors to 3D-printed book honouring Einstein

TORONTO – Albert Einstein’s mind has been the source of endless fascination, so it’s only fitting that a forthcoming tribute to the Nobel Prize-winning physicist will take shape within a mould of his famous face.

“Genius: 100 Visions of the Future,” is being billed as the world’s first 3D-printed book, and is due out next year. Designed by Ron Arad, the publication will bear a resemblance to a bust of Einstein, complete with his trademark shock of hair and bushy moustache.

“Genius” will feature the thoughts of 100 leading minds and influencers sharing nuggets of wisdom and thoughts on the future. The project is a global initiative put forward by the Albert Einstein Foundation and conceived by Canadian Friends of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.

Among the contributors to “Genius” are retired Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, environmental activist David Suzuki, Cirque du Soleil co-founder Guy Laliberte, Right To Play International founder and former Olympic speed skater Johann Olav Koss, and Paralympic athlete Rick Hansen.

“For me, the notion of contribution is consistent with my 30-year journey that has been underway which first started with my ‘Man in Motion’ world tour … trying to create awareness about the potential of people with disabilities, to move the stigma from negative to positive,” Hansen said in a phone interview from Richmond, B.C.

Hansen said having the chance to share his vision for the future is critical, given that it affects “the world’s largest minority,” noting that more than a billion people have disabilities, according to the World Health Organization.

“With aging boomers — the largest population cohort on the planet — this number will accelerate dramatically over the next 20 to 30 years,” Hansen added.

“It’s not something that just affects a few people — it affects all of us.”

Hansen said he has been amazed by people with disabilities who have “transformed and transcended” their fields and made contributions to the world, from entertainer Stevie Wonder to theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking.

“I hope that by being selected that really I can shine a light on this important, necessary global movement and some of the issues to consider, and perhaps leave a challenge for others to get involved, to make a difference and to help join this ultramarathon of social change.”